Successful first Obwalden pop-up appearance in Basel
After six varied weeks at the Aeschengraben in Basel, the first pop-up store of the vacation region Obwalden is history since Saturday. Obwalden Tourism draws a positive balance. In tourism, too, it pays to think outside the box.
"It seems to me that we have been able to establish a new axis of friendship between Basel and Obwalden," Daniel Scardino, Managing Director of Obwalden Tourism and chief host at the pop-up store, sums up. For six weeks, he and his team, accompanied by representatives of the Obwalden food industry, were guests in Basel to inspire new guests for Obwalden.
New curiosity
Scardino is particularly satisfied with the concrete interest in the tourist offer of his region that could be triggered during the Basel presence. "Many conversations were gratifyingly detailed," he says, concretizing: "The interest of many visitors was tangible; we found that there is a clear and often detailed curiosity about our vacation region."
Scardino cites as reasons the relative unfamiliarity of Obwalden's vacation offerings to date and the associated insider tip character, as well as Obwalden's quick accessibility from Basel.
Positive feedback
While tourism marketing is increasingly virtual, and not just in times of pandemic, the Obwalden pop-up concept is a deliberate departure from this practice. "With our visit to the city, we wanted to signal very clearly that we are interested in the people who spend their vacations with us," reveals Scardino. The tourism expert is happily surprised at how positively this attitude has been received in Basel: "The feedback from Basel residents has been overwhelming. I am simply delighted by the approval of our personal presence."
Cooperation as a model for the future
The Obwalden lifestyle was present in the Basel pop-up store not only because of the encounters of a touristic nature; it was rounded off by a selection of specialties and foodstuffs produced in Obwalden, for which stories and information were alternately provided by representatives of the respective companies. "This cooperation not only strengthens the overall experience for visitors, it also creates mutual identity and orientation," Daniel Scardino elaborates. For him, it is clear that such forms of cooperation are the successes of the future.
The next Obwalden pop-up store will open in Zurich in late fall, with visits to Bern and western Switzerland planned for 2022.
